


red light, green light

by veenis



Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender Modern AU [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Cars, Child Abuse, Gen, Homophobia, Slurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 01:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12783732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veenis/pseuds/veenis
Summary: Zuko spends time with his mom during the weekend. They have a little talk.





	red light, green light

**Author's Note:**

> (ursa & ozai are divorced in this au)
> 
> my second installment of my modern au !!! in this series, each work is its own independent event, but theyre connected to each other in some way. im hoping that everything will tie in together the further that i get with it !! 
> 
> btw if youre wondering why my writing is so short, its because i have a short attention span and i personally struggle with reading long fics lmao

_A door slam._

_The piercing sound of glass shattering._

_“I knew it! I knew it since you were a little piece of shit, but your loon of a mother never believed me. Faggot! You’re a faggot!”_

_His father’s booming voice reverberated throughout the house. It was like the walls were trembling, threatening to crumble. No— they were already crumbling. The voice was everywhere. There was nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide. He couldn't make his legs move, in spite of how much he wanted to make a run for it. It was just a matter of time until the entire house would collapse, and he would be swallowed up by the wreckage._

A distant car honk.

A warm, comforting hand on his forearm. 

“Zuko. Zuko, honey...”

His mother’s gentle voice, confined to the car they were in. The voice was soft, undemanding. 

Zuko jolted, whipping his gaze to his left, where his mother wore a wary look on her face. She was still beautiful, though obvious wrinkles were developing. The years of stress and heartbreak were beginning to catch up to her. 

“Yeah, Mom?” His response was a bit delayed, as he had stared at her for a while even after she had turned away to focus on the road when the light turned green. 

Ursa glanced over to her son for a brief moment before averting her eyes once more. She visibly hesitated. “You know, I worry about you sometimes.”

“Well, you’ve told me that before. It’s ‘what all moms should do,’ right?” He tried his hand at a joke, using air-quotes, but they both knew that it was no laughing matter. Zuko knew what his mother was talking about. He’d been getting lost in his own thoughts quite frequently, as of late. He knew that this kind of behavior worried her, but Zuko couldn’t help it. 

Ursa was unable to contain herself. Her words streamed out of her mouth the moment that she brought her car to another stop, making sure to stay behind the white crosswalk line. 

“No matter what, I’m always here. Do you hear me? I’m always here with you. Always. I might not be physically there to protect you from your—“ Ursa stopped herself. “Ozai.” Her hands were gripping at the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were white, although the car remained still. “You are such a strong boy, Zuko. No, no, scratch that. You’re such a strong young _man_. But, even the strongest need someone to lean on. I need you, and I know that you need me. Azula needs me too, but she just doesn’t know it. Ozai might try to tell you that I’m crazy, but I’m not—“

Zuko interrupted her. If he was going to say something, it had to be this. “I know that you’re not crazy, Mom. Ozai’s a manipulative bastard who only cares for himself.”

Ursa bit her tongue. She had to keep herself from reminding her son to watch his language. She would let this one slide, just this one time. Ursa couldn't disagree, though. “I suppose you could say that... I’m here for you,” she repeated. “If you ever want to talk, I’m one call away. Okay?”

Another car honk, except it wasn’t distant this time. It was closer. Just behind them. 

“The light’s green.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me @veenis on tumblr !!


End file.
